Bargain Valentine’s Day surprises for my children

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and I always love to plan surprises for my kids at lunch and dinner. Today I melted some white almond bark (purchased on clearance after Christmas!) and dipped strawberries and pretzels for them to sneak in their lunchboxes tomorrow. I wanted to share a tip I read online – melt chocolate or almond bark in a slow cooker instead of a double boiler. Then you don’t have to monitor a stove while it melts. It worked very well!

And, of course, Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be complete without some Valentine cookies..! Of course, these were picked up free with coupons in 2012! Isn’t that what all good bargain-hunters do? The cookies freeze well, and if you don’t eat them all over the year ahead, you too may have a box or two left the next time the holiday rolls around.

One other fun tip – I always make a rice-themed dinner on Valentine’s Day and put a few drops of red food coloring in the rice cooker. My kids get such a kick out of pink rice… especially when you serve it in the shape of a heart! Tomorrow night’s dinner: Orange chicken and pink rice. Delicious!

Happy Valentine’s Day planning to you… whatever surprises you may have in store!

PS: If you want to get your cookie coupons ready for post-Valentine clearances, you’ll find .75-off-2 Pillsbury coupons in the 1/6 SS2, 12/9 SS and 12/2 SS. Coupons.com has a $1-off-2 printable and SavingStar.com has a $1-off-2 Pillsbury ecoupon too. And, there’s a .75-off-1 Nestle in the 2/3 RP.